stilldazed
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You can't discriminate in the administration (including cost or denial of coverage) in your group benefits plan, so I would refrain from asking select individuals to complete the questionnaire. You can ask your insurance company to quote based on t…
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You don't have to, but verify how your SPD defines your responsibilities. You can simply declare the extra pay check as a freebie and don't take deductions. You may get some unbargained for 'good' publicity out of that, especially if the timing wo…
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Didn't mean to drop out for awhile, and I agree this issue has garnered way more attention than it deserves. Diversity training? Just trying to be thorough. And it should probably start with the folks who admit to having witnessed the change.
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Agree with the others and would reiterate that calling this a medical issue is premature. It may a planned event for all you know, and until the fella requests something like time off for medical attention or accomodation for some sort of disabilit…
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We are not self insured, and I don't know if there is a state-specific requirement for you, but we generally lump all employee records into a single basket after termination and keep all records for 7 years after the last activity. It covers us on …
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For anyone who is interested in establishing a wellness program and tie the costs of health insurance to it, there are a couple of basic sources to check: Federal ERISA language outlines the criteria for a bona fide well program. If you have a bona…
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Glad you're getting some good ideas. As for wellness programs, the sky is pretty much the limit. I think with a little research, you'll identify something that will work for your organization. Without having knowledge of your resources, wellness …
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There is a way. Start a wellness program. And as for being the target of criticism, my honest opinion is that it must be part of the job. I think there is a subliminal message somewhere in 'HR' that tells folks to attack. While it is easier said…
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We are 20 miles from everywhere in a very rural area, so our employees also get a scenic drive, no traffic, the chance to see wildlife up close and personal, and fairly high gas prices. Depending on your location, and not sure what else you might h…
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My company's experience (in Florida) has been the latter of your two situations. We collect the notice of prior coverage affidavit from the newly covered worker, and our insurance will impose pre-existing even though we have a 90-day waiting period…
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No exception available, but the though the worker 'planned' to use the money to recoup some expenses RE: dental work, it can be used for any qualifying medical expense. Advise the worker to ask her employer for clarification based on the employer'…
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Agree with NeedCoffee. No exeptions. It's part of the risk. However, there may be some other medical expenses that would qualify for some or all of the money. $4,500 is a awful lot of money. As a protection measure by your company, you can cons…
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What outcome are you looking for from your employees? Without knowing exactly what your expectations are, a general concept would be to clarify your desired outcome for your business, individualize it to functions and individual roles, identify obj…
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We allow folks to decline enrollment, but we do not offer any form of recognition for their decision. My recommendation would be to tread carefully. You can very easily get into offering the 'savings,' which becomes the 'carrot,' more folks choosi…
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It's on the way. best wishes
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That's probably the most difficult to manage but not too difficult to overshadow the positives. We inform employees up front that approval of PTO usage after the fact is an exception situation, and that is how it is managed. If there is medical c…
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We use PTO and like it. Employees we designate as full time qualify, and it is accrued based on their hours worked, tracked through the payroll process, and printed right on their checks. PTO is helpful when there are a variety of shifts, some l…
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Turn to EEOC references for some help. I found the following: "According to the EEOC, employers may conduct voluntary medical exams and inquiries as part of an employee health program (such as medical screening for high blood pressure, weight cont…
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We didn't have anyone who attended the webinar, but our organization is working actively on emergency preparedness--as I presume many employers are. Since the 9/11 disaster, US in general appears to be trying to learn from prior experience and tran…
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I'm in Florida and not familiar with Texas state issues. However, in Florida, she would be eligible to file, as her employer, I could not discourage from filing without committing a misdemeanor offense; however, she would not collect as long as med…
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Looks like you haven't had a response to your question. It's been a while, and not sure you are still looking, but in case you are: The 24-month period would be for the Cobra period--extending from 18 months otherwise. If you have a TPA for Cobra…
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No prohibitions in Florida, but check your state's Dept. of Finance/Insurance just to be sure. In Florida it is OK to discriminate in benefits plans (including the costs) based on defined criteria; the criteria should be in writing as a policy. …
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Agree with previous posts. Find out what's wrong and work toward a real fix. Otherwise, you and your company are applying a bandaide, and employees are generally smart enough to see through superficial efforts. We had similar problems just a fe…
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Agree with the other posts, but call your ex-wife's employer as well and ask. If they have requested evidence of the divorced, they'll probably tell you. If they have and maybe she forgot--divorce is a trying time for all parties--you can tell the…
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Check your state's regulations on document evidence guideliness. Florida happens to require 'best available evidence.' If documents are retained in an electronic image and hard copies are not available, the scanned image becomes the best available…
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The answer will be in your SPD. IRS sets a minimum baseline requirement for burden of proof to the emloyee, and same provisions that apply to income tax deductions apply to cafeteria plan reimbursements--which is that the person claiming the tax cr…
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Hope you found your answer by now, but in case you haven't, I don't have the correct answer either. I did find the following while muddling through the dol.gov website and thought it my be helpful to you: [url]http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/[/ur…
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Do not offer Cobra for dependent care accounts. Offer Cobra for medical FSA accounts in certain circumstances only: if the departing employee has more left in the account that he/she has used through the term date, offer Cobra, and then only until…
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My general sentiment is that at first glance things are not looking so good for employers in this instance. Regardless of my gut instinct (and as hard as it is proving to be today), I am trying very hard to maintain some level of optimism. My expe…
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I still don't have a precise answer for your question either and actually think it represents where most of us are with this topic--confused! I do know there is some sort of major educational/marketing blitz planned through CMS, so we'll probably a…